Fountain pen



R. T. WING FOUNTAIN PEN Jan. 8, 1952 Filed March 5, 1945 f INVENIOR.Td/1,329]

Patented Jan. 8, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FOUNTAIN PEN RussellT. Wing, Excelsior, Minn.

Application March 5, 1945, Serial No. 580,991

Claims.

The invention relates generally to fountain pens and more particularlyto a fountain pen of the type shown in my Patents No. 2,187,528, issuedJanuary 16, 1940, and No. 2,282,840, issued May 12, 1942.

The general object of the invention is to provide a novel fountain penof the foregoing type in which the parts are so shaped as to simplifyand facilitate the manufacture thereof.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type withcapillary ink storage spaces or cells, the governor being so constructedthat the cells thereof may be formed in a simple and inexpensive mannerto facilitate the manufacture thereof and thus provide a pen that may beproduced at relatively low cost.

A further object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type,including a governor provided with capillary ink spaces or cellsconnected at one end with the outside atmosphere and directly with thereservoir of the pen at their other end.

Still another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type,having air flow means connecting the reservoir with the outsideatmosphere and independent of and separate from the ink ow meansconnecting the reservoir with the nib of the pen.

A still futher object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoingtype, having air ow means connecting the reservoir with the outsideatmosphere, which is independent of and separate from the ink flow meansconnecting the reservoir with the nib of the pen, and which constitutesstorage space for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excessflow from the reservoir.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type,having a governor provided with radial slits extending throughout thelength of the governor and constituting storage spaces for excess inkflow, and also provided with a radial slit connecting the reservoir ofthe pen with the nib.

A further object is to provide a fountai pen of the foregoing type,having a governor comprising a plurality of concentrically arrangedtubes-of varying diameters, one within another, to provide a pluralityof annular spaces of capillary size for receiving and storing ink underconditions of excess flow, the outer tube being provided with a feedfissure for feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib of the pen.

Another object is to provide a fountain pen of the foregoing type,includingl a shell underlying the nib of the pen and enclosing agovernor hav ing a capillary space for receiving and storing ink underconditions of excess ilow and in direct communication with thereservoir, the shell also having a capillary ink space in front of thegovernor and in communication with the nib slit through a slit in theshell.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the followingdescription, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, inwhich:

Figure 1 is a fragmentary enlarged longitudinal sectional view of afountain pen embodying the features of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a transverse sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1. l

Fig. 4 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1 but showing a modified formof construction.

Fig. 6 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 1-1 of Fig. 5.

Fig. 8 is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. 5.

A fountain pen embodying the features of the invention is of the typeshown in my'abovementioned prior patents, and comprises generally a feedstructurefor feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib. The feedstructure includes means for receiving and storing ink under cori-vditions of excess ow, and also serving to control the iiow of air to thereservoir as ink is used in writing. In the constructions herein shown,the means for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flowcomprises a plurality of spaces which open directly into the reservoir,a feed duct being provided which connects the reservoir with the nib ofthe pen and which is separate from and independent of such spaces. Thesespaces may be either in the form of longitudinally extending slits ormay be annular in form, the spaces being provided in a governor orcollector member which also is provided with the above-mentioned feedduct. The governor is mounted Within an enclosing shell which isprovided with an air inlet adapted to admit air to the storage spaces.The shell is also preferably constructed to include a space in additionto the above-mentioned storage means, which addition- :al-space isadapted to receive ink and hold it close to the nib so that ink may befed directly from such additional space to the nib rather than Y 3through the governor as in the case of the storage means.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 to 4,inclusive, I have shown a pen comprising a barrel I0, provided at itsfront end with a pen section I I. The latter may be a part separate frombut connected to the barrel proper or may be integral therewith, asshown in the drawings. The interior of the barrel, in the presentinstance, constitutes a reservoir 9, but the invention is not limited inthis respect and may be embodied in a pen having a sac type reservoir.The pen section II is provided With an internal bore I2 adapted toreceive and support the feeding structure of the pen and a nib I3 whichis provided with the usual writing tip I4 and is longitudinally slittedas at I5. with 'the slit extending to a pierce I6 of usual form. Therear end of the nib is arcuate in shape, asis clearly apparent in Fig.3, and the4 bore I2 is provided with an'arcuate enlargement I'I` toreceive the rear end portion of the nib as shown in. Fig. 1. A

The V:feed structure, in the present instance, comprises a shell 20 ofcylindrical form adapted toy t snugly in the bore I2 of the penVsection. The shell 20 underlies the nib I3 and holds it firmly. in placein the arcuate enlargement I1 in the pen section'. The'front end of the"shell is curved as at 2I to extend toward the nib I3 and support thelatter with only the writing tip I4 projecting beyond the shell.

Within the shell 20 is a governor or collector member 22 of cylindrical.form' fitting. snugly Withinthe shell. Extending longitudinally of thegovernor from end to end thereof isafeedduct comprising, inthepresent'instance, a radial vslit 23 of capillary dimension andopeningintos the reservoir 9 at its rear end. The front end of the feedduct or slit 23 is adapted to. be connected Withthe slit I inthe nib. Tothis end, the'shell in that .portionunderlying thenib is slitted, withthe. slits extending rearwardly to overlap and then connect with thefeed duct 23. Preferably, Iprovide three 'slits 24 in the shell, whichare spaced from and are parallel to each other, the purpose of'providngthree such slits being to insure having at least one open should anyclogging occur. ^The slits 24 extend rearwardly to overliethe front end`of the governor and the feed duct 23,V and inworder to distribute inkfromv the feed duct intoall three of the `slits 24, the front end ofthekl governor is flattened as at 25 to provideV a segmental spaceopening both into .thezfeed duct 23 and the slits 24.. Thus, I haveprovided means for feeding ink from the reservoir to the nib.

As :'mentioned above, the governor or .collector member 22 is. alsoprovided with meansefor receiving `and storing ink under conditions ofYexcess flow. Thus, -if the pen is in a relatively cool 'conditionbefore being used, the heat of the hand in holding the pen'duringwritingmay cause expansion of the air-within the yreservoir andV tend toforce ink to flow from the reservoir. To receive and store such yink andtherebyprevent leakage at the writing tip ofthe pen, thepresent storagemeans is so arranged. that ink may flow directlyl thereto from thelreservoir.' VFor this purpose, I Viprovide a: `plurality of spacesorcells formed in the governor 22 and vextending from end to end thereofso that, at the rearV end of the governor, they opendirectly into thereservoir. In the present instance, such spaces comprise radial" slits26 formed in the governor 22 independently of and separate from the feedduct or slit 23. The slits 26 also function to'control the flow of airto the reservoir. For this purpose, the front ends of the slits 26 areconnected With the outside atmosphere by being open to a space 30 withinthe front end of the shell and in front of the governor, the space beingin communication with the outside atmosphere through the internal bore3I of a tubular extension 32 projecting inwardly from the front end ofthe shell. The tubular extension 32 terminates at a distance from thefront end of the governor to provide the space 35 whereby air may freelypass to all of the slits 26.

`This form of pen is also provided with additional .space for receivingink under conditions of nected. withthe slit I5 in the nib through theslits 24 in the shell. Thus, as is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the tubularextension 32 is surrounded by an annular space 33 which is of capillarysize and is directly connected tothe shell slits' 24. Any ink collectinginthe annular space 33 will thus be drawn through the slits 24 into thenib slit I5y as the'inlr is'consumed in Writing.

The governor member 22, while iitting snugly Within the shell 20, may beheld in proper longi tudinal -relationship thereto by being providedwith a flange 34'at its rear end adapted to engage the rear end of thershell 20 and to be clamped thereby against'r an internalshoulder 35formed in the barrelV I 0.

IAll of the variousjink feed passages as well as the means for receivingand storing excess ink, of course, must be of capillary dimension.Moreover, .they are relatively proportioned so thatv the ink will feedproperly from the reservoir tothe nib and thejink will be received bythe storage means when excess ow occurs and will be Withdrawn whenconditions of excess ow no longer exist.v As an example of suitabledimensioning forthe various parts, the slit I5 in the nib Vis preferably.0005 to .002 of an inch in width. The slits 24 in the shell areslightly larger than the slit I5 so that ink may be drawn into thevlatter. Thus, the slits 24 may be approximately .005 of an inch in Widthand, in some instances, it has been found preferable to make them ofvthree different dimensions, such as .004, .005 and .006 of an inch. Thesegmental space on the governor underlying the shell slits 24 and formedby the flattened portion 25is such as to provide a maximum depth for thespace of notmore than .007 o-f an inch. The width of the feed slot 23 inthe governoris preferably '.005 of aninchi l, The storage spaces orslits 26 in the governor may be of uniform dimension throughout theirlength but are preferably tapered in form with their larger Widths atthe front and narrower portions at the rear, so that in` emptying inkthe-front portions will empty rst and the ink will gradually recedetherein from front torear. Preferably, the slits 26 may be .030 of aninch at the front and .O10 of an inch at the rear. The annular capillaryspace 33 surrounding thev tubular extension 32 in the front end of theshell may be 'as'largeas approximately .035 of an inch.

Inv operation; assuming that the vreservoir of the'y pen is lled withink. and that thestorage spacesV 26 are substantially empty, ink willfeed through the feed duct' 23 to the flattened portion 25 at the frontend of the governor. At that point the ink will spread laterally overthe:flattenedA surface 25 to be'distributed to the three slits 24 intheshell. vTherink.willapass-along the slits 24 to the underside of thenib'and will 'be .fed therefromV to the `nib slit |'5 for use Vatthewriting tip |4.

If, during writing, there are no conditions existing to cause expansionof` the air in the reservoir, then, as ink is withdrawn therefrom, airwill pass through the internal bore 3| of the tubular extension 32 inthe shell and Will be distributed to the various storage slits 26. Asink is withdrawn at the writing tip ofl the pen, such air will tend tobubble up through any ink remaining in the storage spaces 26 into thereservoir to maintain a balanced pressure relationship. The rear ends ofthe slits 26 thus act as weir vents controlling the flow of air into thereservoir. By having all of the spaces 26 opening directly into thereservoir, should the rear end of any one or more of them becomeclogged, the remainder will stillV serve to admit air to the reservoirand thus permit an eve feed. l

Should some condition occur to cause an expansion of the air within thereservoir, the excess ink caused to owtherefrom will enter the spaces 26and thus shut oif the supply of air to the reservoir. Should the ilow ofexcess ink be greater than the capacity of the spaces 26, the space 33in the front end of the shell will iill, `thus providing a,v capillaryspace close to the writing tip of the pen to prevent any leakagetherefrom. When the pen is used in Writing under such conditions, inkwill be withdrawn from the space 33 by the smaller capillary slits 24 inthe nib to supply the writing tip. After the space 33 is emptied, inkwill be drawn from the reservoir through the feed duct 23 to supply thewriting tip. However, because the spaces 26 are lled with ink, no aircan enter the reservoir to replace the ink so withdrawn. The ink in thespaces 26 will, therefore, be withdrawn rearwardly into the reservoir tothe extent necessary to reestablish the necessary pressure relationshipuntil substantially all the ink in the spaces 26 is withdrawn.Thereafter, air may work up through the spaces 26 to bubble into thereservoir through the weir vents provided by the rear ends of the spaces26.

In the modified form shown in Figs. 5 to 8, inclusive, the barrel, pensection, nib and shell are constructed in substantially the same manneras shown in Figs. 1 to 4, inclusive. The governor shown in Figs. 5 to 8differs, however, in construction. In this form, the governor orcollector member comprises a plurality of concentric sleeves 40,telescoped one within another, to provide a plurality of annularspacesl4| for receiving and storing ink under conditions of excess flow. In thepresent instance, two sleeves 40 are shown with a rod 42 of round crosssection positioned within the inner tube. The tubes 40 are provided withlongitudinal spacers 43, three in the present instance, to hold thetubes 40 and rod 42 in spaced relation and thus provide the annularspaces 4|. The spacers 43 may be only lugs formed at the respective endsof the sleeves 40 but, preferably, are in the form of ribs, as shown inthe drawing, extending throughout the length of the sleeves 40 tofacilitate forming the sleeves 40 by molding. In order to position thesleeves 40 in proper longitudinal relation to the shell 22, the outersleeve may, at its rear end, be provided with a iiange 44 abutting therear end ofthe shell. The outer sleeve 40 is also provided with a feedduct 45 in the form of a longitudinally extending slit, and the frontend of the outer sleeve is flattened, as

at 46, to connect the feed duct 45 "with the slits 24 in the shell. A

The shell 20, in this instance, differs in one respect from the shellshown in the rst form. namely, in having an inwardly extending tubularportion 50 which is of somewhat larger diameter than that shown in Fig.1, so that the surrounding annular space 5| is of smaller capillarydimension. In this instance, the annular capillary space 5| ispreferably of substantially the same size as the slits 24 inthe shelland, forexample, may be .006 of an inch in its radial dimension.

The modified form of pen functions in substantially the same manner asthe pen shown in Fig. 1, except that the annular space 5| at the frontend of the shell will remain lled with ink substantially throughout theoperation of the pen, since it has about the same capillarity as theslits 24 in the shell. The function of the capillary space 5| is toprovide an ample supply of ink closely adjacent the nib. The space 5|thus maintains ink which may be immediately available for writing whenthe pen is put in use.

I claim:

1. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structurecomprising a shell, and a governor within the shell having a,longitudinally extending capillary ink storage space tapering inWall-to-wall dimension from front to rear, said space being connected atits front end with the outside atmosphere and opening at its rear enddirectly into said reservoir, and a capillary ink feed passage separatethroughout its length from and of greater capillarity than saidinkstorage space and directly connected at its rear end to said reservoirand in communication with the nib at its front end for connecting saidreservoir to said nib independently of said ink storage space. y

2. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a niby and a feed structurecomprising a governor having a pair of mutually` separate conductingmeans, one being connected to atmosphere and directly to said reservoirand tapering in wall-towall dimension from the end which is connected toatmosphere toward the end which is connected to said reservoir, wherebythey are adapted to conduct air to the reservoir, and to receive inksolely from said reservoir and to store ink under conditions of excessflow from said reservoir and to prevent the ow of air to the reservoirwhen so storing ink, and the other connected to the nib and directlytofthe reservoir for connecting the reservoir and nib independentlyofthe air conducting means.

3. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a shell, a slitted niboverlying said shell, said shell having a capillary slit underlying theslit in the nib, and a governor having a longitudinal capillary duct incommunication at one end with the slit in the shell and connected at itsother end to the reservoir, and a plurality of capillary air flowpassages each separate from and of less capillarity than said capillaryduct and opening directly and independently into said reservoir andadapted to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink underconditions of excess flow aratcfradial slits of capillary dimension and`extending from end to end of said governorfone of said slits beingsmalle'rthan the others and constituting an ink feed duct, the otherslits tapering in width from front to rear and being directly connectedto said reservoir independently of each other and of said one slit andadapted to receive ink solely from said reservoir and to store ink underconditions of excess flow from the reservoir and to control the flow ofair to the reservoir.

5. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, a shell, and a governormounted within said shell, said governor having an ink feed duct and aplurality of radial `slits of capillary width extending fromend to endof the governor and tapering lengthwise with theirsmaller end at therear and their larger end at the front, said slits being connected attheir rear ends directly to said reservoir and communicating at theirforward Iends with the atmosphere to receive ink solely from saidreservoir and to store ink under conditions of excess iiow from thereservoir and to control the flow of air to the reservoir.

6.A A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structurecomprising a shell, and a governor within the shell and comprising aplurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one within another and heldin radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillaryspaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow,the outer sleeve having an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir withthe nib independently of said annular spaces.

7. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structurecomprising a shell, and a governor'within the shell and comprising aplurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within another and heldin radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillaryspaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow,said annular spaces opening at their rear end into said reservoir, andsaid shell having a non-capillary opening for admitting air to the frontend of said spaces, the outer sleeve having a capillary ink feed ductconnecting the reservoir with the nilo` independently of said annularspaces.

8. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structurecomprising a shell, and a governor within the shell and comprising aplurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within anand havinglongitudinally extending ribs holding the sleeves in radially spacedrelation to provide substantially annular capillary spaces adapted toreceive and store ink under conditions of excess flow, the outer sleevehaving an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with the nibindependently of said annular spaces.

10. A fountain pen comprising a reservoir, a nib, and feed structurecomprising a shell, and a governor Within the shell comprising aplurality of concentric sleeves telescoped one Within anotherv and heldin radially spaced relation to provide a plurality of annular capillaryspaces adapted to receive and store ink under conditions of excess flow,the outer sleeve having a flange at its rear end abutting the rear endof the shell to position the governor Within the shell, said outersleeve also having an ink feed duct connecting the reservoir with thenib independently of said annular spaces.

RUSSELL T. WING.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 307,735 Waterman Nov. 4, 1884608,463 Beaumel May 3, 1898 648,839 Boman May 1, 1900 962,982 Saha June28, 1910 1,633,111 Kovacs June 21, 1927 2,152,436 Koos Mar. 28, 19392,176,661 Ashmore Oct. 17, 1939 2,260,571 Johndohl Oct. 28, 19412,282,840 Wing May 12, 1942 2,360,397 Wing Oct. 10, 1944

